Gentle with Leo: a very hard attack against Messi that caused a scare in Argentina | VIDEO

Lionel Messi looked for the second goal of Argentina vs. Australia and faced the entire rival defense. That foray, shortly after closing the first half in Qatar 2022, could have been expensive for the captain of the team. When he tried to approach goalkeeper Mathew Ryan, he suffered a heavy foul courtesy of Harry Souttar.

After the goal he scored at 35 ‘, Leo Messi got among the players in the Oceania team. While the Albiceleste advanced down the strip, the 10 appeared as a support option for their teammates. Thus, the gunner received the ball and immediately faced the box and the opponent’s defenders.

Right away, the Argentina captain displayed the well-known short pike. Then, the midfielder Jackson Irvine wanted to stop him, but he won the duel with power. After that, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner had to pass one more barrier, but he was hard stomped on by central defender Souttar.

The number 19 of the Australians sought to keep the ball, but due to the speed of the maneuver it hit the South American directly on the foot. As soon as the impact occurred, Messi fell flat on the grass. There was a lot of concern between his teammates and Lionel Scaloni’s technical command.

And it is that the Argentine star took several laps on the ‘green’ because of the pain he felt in his foot from the boots that the defender of the ‘Socceroos’ nailed him. The Polish referee Szymon Marciniak stopped the actions for the striker to be treated. But, after a few seconds, Lionel himself pointed out that it was not necessary.

After that scene, Messi stood up again to continue with the round of 16 commitment in the World Cup. Of course, the gesture of the players and the rest of the members of the Albiceleste reflected the concern for the 10.